How Awakenings Shape Dream Recall: A Multilevel Study
Somayeh Ataei, Mahdad Jafarzade Esfahani, Nikolai Axmacher, Martin Dresler, Sarah F. Schoch
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) May 22, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.64898/2026.05.20.722678 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 832 |
| Population | Adults spanning the full range of dream recall frequency (cohort 1) and adults with high dream recall frequency (cohort 2) |
| Duration | Multiple nights with home sleep recordings and daily dream reports |
| Topics | Lucid dreaming Dreaming |
| Keywords | Morning Sleep system call Polysomnography Cohort Developmental psychology Audiology Sleep onset Free recall Trait |
| Key findings | Trait-level dream recall is associated with more habitual long REM awakenings and short NREM awakenings, and state-level increases in short and medium REM awakenings boost morning dream recall while long REM awakenings boost dream content recall. |
Abstract
Abstract Dream recall varies substantially both between individuals and from night to night within the same individual. Although nocturnal awakenings are thought to facilitate the encoding and later retrieval of dream experiences, it remains unclear whether dream recall is shaped primarily by awakening frequency or by more specific awakening characteristics, including duration, sleep stage, and timing within the night. Here, we analyzed two cohorts: cohort 1 consisted of 708 adults spanning the full range of dream recall frequency, assessed across three waves with home sleep recordings and questionnaire-based dream recall frequency measures; cohort 2 consisted of 124 adults with high dream recall frequency, assessed across multiple nights with home sleep recordings and daily dream reports. Using multilevel models with within-between decomposition, we examined trait-like and state-like associations between awakening measures and dream recall outcomes. At the trait level, both questionnaire-based dream recall frequency in cohort 1 and daily dream recall (i.e., a sense of having dreamed) in cohort 2 were associated with a specific nocturnal awakening profile: more habitual long REM awakenings and short NREM awakenings, with REM awakening effects remaining robust after adjustment for sleep duration. At the state level, in cohort 2, nights with more short and medium REM awakenings than usual increased the likelihood of morning dream recall, whereas nights with more long REM awakenings than usual increased the likelihood of morning dream content recall (i.e., remembering dream content). These findings support the arousal-retrieval and functional state-shift models, while highlighting important nuances in the associations between nocturnal awakenings and different dream recall outcomes.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects | 2018 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cites 17
- Questionnaires and diaries as research instruments in dream research: Methodological issues. Dreaming March 1, 2002
- Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model Journal of Sleep Research May 12, 2003
- Experimental Research on Dreaming: State of the Art and Neuropsychoanalytic Perspectives Frontiers in Psychology 2011
- Increased Awakenings From Non-rapid Eye Movement Sleep Explain Differences in Dream Recall Frequency in Healthy Individuals Frontiers in Human Neuroscience October 15, 2019
- Dream habits in a large cohort of preteens and their relation to sleep and nocturnal awakenings. Journal of Sleep Research April 1, 2025
and 12 more in the library